Male Sex Hormone Gets Women in the Mood

Nov. 5, 2008 -- Low sexual desire is a common complaint among women, but there is no drug treatment specifically approved for the problem.

Now, new research in the Nov. 6 New England Journal of Medicine suggests that boosting levels of the male sex hormone testosterone can help postmenopausal women with low libido get back in the mood.

But questions remain about the treatment's safety.

An increasing number of women in the United States have been using testosterone off-label to treat problems with sexual desire, arousal, and achieving orgasm.

The new study examined the safety and effectiveness of an experimental testosterone patch developed specifically for the treatment of low sexual desire in women. The study was paid for by Proctor & Gamble Pharmaceuticals.

Testosterone Patch Revisited

The company sought fast-track approval for a 300-microgram patch, which it calls Intrinsa, in 2004, specifically for women who had had declines in testosterone levels as a result of having surgically induced menopause.

But in December of that year, a 14-member FDA advisory committee unanimously rejected the request, citing concerns about the lack of long-term safety data and off-label use.

The new study included women who had undergone surgically induced menopause and women who had undergone menopause naturally, all of whom were diagnosed with low sexual desire.

About a third of the women wore patches delivering 300 micrograms of testosterone per day, another third wore 150 microgram patches, and the rest of the women wore placebo patches with no testosterone.

More Satisfying Sex

The women were asked to keep sexual encounter diaries, and researchers used other established measures to assess sexual response during the six-month evaluation phase of the study.

They found that compared to placebo users, the women who used the 300 microgram patch reported significant improvements in sexual functioning, including desire, arousal, orgasm, and pleasure. This was not the case for women who wore the lower-dose testosterone patch.